We are very excited to share this issue of the Special Interest Division 3 newsletter with you as we continue this year’s central theme of Occupational Voice. This issue focuses specifically on the multitude of issues surrounding the performance voice. As always, we are very appreciative to our contributors who took time from their busy schedules to provide information and insight regarding their research and/or experiences with the performing voice. We must tell our readers how enthusiastic each author has always been to contribute to this forum.

Vocal arts medicine has developed considerably over the last 20 years as a result of the development of unique relationships between speech scientists/pathologists, otolaryngologists, and vocal peda-gogists. In fact, evaluation and treatment of the professional/performance voice is now recognized as a sub-speciality area within the disciplines of otolaryngology and speech-language pathology. Specialized voice care centers are geographically more predominant; therefore, a performer has more choices where to seek evaluation and care of their voice problem. This translates to the fact that more voice care specialists need to be trained in order to maintain the vitality of these centers. As well, the training standards must include knowledge of vocal fold histology (see Dr. Zeitels and Hillman’s excellent review), aeromechanical characteristics of singing, and effects of vocal pathology on vocal fold vibration. The relationship between acoustic and physiological parameters must be understood to the extent that one can fluently understand the interaction between respiratory drive, laryngeal function and supralaryngeal modification (as pointed out in Dr. Johan Sundberg’s contribution).